Movies How good an actor was Mickey Rourke in the 1980s?

[Takes Two To Tango]

Probably the most naturally gifted actor of his generation or ever. He was so amazing in the 80s.

When he talks, you can't help be drawn in.

He had the mixture of sensitivity and toughness.

 

[Bullitt68]

Not GOAT level - he wasn't disciplined enough for that - but right there. And his performance in Angel Heart was until The Wrestler the best performance of his career and it's a phenomenal performance. He also credited that performance to De Niro, because he said working with De Niro inspired him to give it his all, and it showed in his performance. Angel Heart is also just one of the most underrated movies out there.

And then, of course, there's The Pope of Greenwich Village with Mickey and Eric Roberts, which is basically a remake of Mean Streets with them playing Charlie and Johnny Boy respectively. Another fantastic film that not enough people have seen.

 

[ricc505]

I'm a big fan of barfly.(I think it's an '80s movie)
There is something gimmicky about him. Not fault it's inauthentic but sometimes he's just Micky playing Micky

 

[Fedorgasm]

He was very convincing when he played a dude that enjoyed banging prime Kim Basinger.

 

[Bullitt68]

I'm a big fan of barfly.(I think it's an '80s movie)

Yep, 1987. Barfly and Angel Heart, his two best performances of the decade (and in his career alongside The Wrestler), in one year.

There is something gimmicky about him. Not fault it's inauthentic but sometimes he's just Micky playing Micky

Have you ever seen any interviews with him? He's nothing like his characters.

He was very convincing when he played a dude that enjoyed banging prime Kim Basinger.

And also as a dude that enjoyed banging Lisa Bonet.

 

[ricc505]

Yep, 1987. Barfly and Angel Heart, his two best performances of the decade (and in his career alongside The Wrestler), in one year.

Have you ever seen any interviews with him? He's nothing like his characters.



And also as a dude that enjoyed banging Lisa Bonet.

Actual I can't think of any interviews I've seen. I imagine I've watched the bulk of his filmography though. I believe him to be a genuinely weird dude

 

[ricc505]

Actual I can't think of any interviews I've seen. I imagine I've watched the bulk of his filmography though. I believe him to be a genuinely weird dude

Quick trip to IMDb and I've seen 37 acting roles for Rourke, not the bulk of his work but a damn respectable showing.

 

[Bullitt68]

Actual I can't think of any interviews I've seen. I imagine I've watched the bulk of his filmography though. I believe him to be a genuinely weird dude

Watch his interviews, check him out on Inside the Actor's Studio, you won't be looking at Harry Angel or Hank Chinaski and you for damn sure won't be looking at Cyrus Paice or Harley Davidson. It's demeaning to say that actors "just play themselves" because it discounts their effort and brilliance, and nine times out of ten it's also incorrect since just a couple of interviews are all that's necessary for people to realize that Al Pacino isn't Tony Montana, Robert De Niro isn't Jake La Motta, Jack Nicholson isn't Jack Torrance, etc.

As a fan, I just want Mickey to get his credit for being a truly great actor rather slotting him in next to The Rock as a guy who just shows up and reads lines.

 

[ricc505]

Good points, maybe I phrased it wrong, but DiNero for example I joke about being Bobby 2 times. He says things, you guessed it 2X=DRAMA! I'll bet he does that in his actual life. He also really gets into his character's skin, I watched midnight run last week and was reading about his character input and making up the whole watch thing. Topically with his recent death and also acting with Di Niro in heat Val Kilmer had to get psych help getting Morrison out of his head.

I think Rourke has some undeniable tropes. And he brings some of his personality to his roles. As Harley Davidson (watched last week as well) he designed the bike to match his identity as a biker. It was his bike before the movie was made. It was I think 3 in a series of black death bikes he drew and had built.

 

[Spam On Rye]

Give him a 7. He was hailed as the next Brando but I think he's overrated. He's good in Angel Heart and Rumble Fish and his best role is playing Bukowski in Barfly imo. Always thought he would have been good in a Jarmusch film as well. I could see him Fishing With John.

 

[listrahtes]

Give him a 7. He was hailed as the next Brando but I think he's overrated. He's good in Angel Heart and Rumble Fish and his best role is playing Bukowski in Barfly imo. Always thought he would have been good in a Jarmusch film as well. I could see him Fishing With John.

I thought he had the talent but was so full of himself, like really narcicistic to the max full that you couldnt have his in movie character without seeing Micky Rourke. Thats what took him down for me to way subpar. It was just always "look at me" I suffer sooo much, I am soooo sexy, I am soooo....etc.

 

[Spam On Rye]

I thought he had the talent but was so full of himself, like really narcicistic to the max full that you couldnt have his in movie character without seeing Micky Rourke. Thats what took him down for me to way subpar. It was just always "look at me" I suffer sooo much, I am soooo sexy, I am soooo....etc.

Agreed. Would explain what he did to his poor face as well. Dude is unwell.

 

[moreorless87]

And his performance in Angel Heart was until The Wrestler the best performance of his career and it's a phenomenal performance. He also credited that performance to De Niro, because he said working with De Niro inspired him to give it his all, and it showed in his performance. Angel Heart is also just one of the most underrated movies out there.

Its come up previously but I think whilst its getting somewhat more praise in recent years(helped by an exellent UHD disk) Angel Heart really is still very underrated, great performance by Rouke(and a lot of range to it as well) but its definitely not just an "actors film", I kind of view it as Parker wanting to make something on the level of Scott's Alien and Blade Runner in terms of the quality of the production and honestly I think he's really not far off those two at all. Maybe the issue is like Blade Runner people go in expecting a more standard detective thriller and instead get more of an atmospheric arty drama mystery.

I would say the same with Rumble fish as well, it gets "some" attention but I think its still very underrated, for me its the last classic film Coppola made but came out at the wrong time, would have fitted in much better a decade latter. Again great production all around but I think Rouke really does hold the film together, a character like that were the film hypes him up so much had he just been a "cool badass" it wouldnt really have worked but he manages to be both cool and have a kind of doomed intelligence to him, I believe he said he played him almost as Alfred Camus.

I actually think had he not gone off the rails as much Tarantino would have been a great fit for him but generally I would say he was perhaps a bit too edgy/sleazy for 90's Hollywood? the way Michael Biehn's career dropped off around the same time I think was a similar kind of issue.

 

[irish_thug]

No love for the Oscar worthy Harley Davidson and the Marlboro Man?

 

[Bullitt68]

Its come up previously but I think whilst its getting somewhat more praise in recent years(helped by an exellent UHD disk) Angel Heart really is still very underrated, great performance by Rouke(and a lot of range to it as well) but its definitely not just an "actors film", I kind of view it as Parker wanting to make something on the level of Scott's Alien and Blade Runner in terms of the quality of the production and honestly I think he's really not far off those two at all. Maybe the issue is like Blade Runner people go in expecting a more standard detective thriller and instead get more of an atmospheric arty drama mystery.

One of my favorite pieces of academic film criticism is Slavoj Žižek writing about Blade Runner and Angel Heart together as sci-fi noir and supernatural noir respectively. For me, though, Angel Heart is WAY better than Blade Runner. Blade Runner is better conceptually than it is experientially. It's a largely boring movie with a convoluted narrative that works against it rather than for it. But when you think about the implications with the replicants, it's pretty cool. That's not exactly a recipe for a great time at the movies, though. Angel Heart, by contrast, is amazing to experience, it has a great story with interesting characters and cool twists leading up to a phenomenal conclusion. And then once it's over, you keep thinking about it and it gets even better. That's my idea of a great film.

I actually think had he not gone off the rails as much Tarantino would have been a great fit for him but generally I would say he was perhaps a bit too edgy/sleazy for 90's Hollywood? the way Michael Biehn's career dropped off around the same time I think was a similar kind of issue.

Pretty sure at one point the Burt Reynolds reference in True Romance was a Mickey Rourke reference. Also pretty sure Tarantino wrote Butch with Rourke in mind, either as a model or because he actually wanted to cast him once he got around to making Pulp Fiction. @Highway99, am I remembering this right?

 

[Yoricks Wisdom]

Meh, he had his cinematic moments but largely peripheral IMO.
And then getting disfigured by Dr. No sealed his fate as a tragic afterthought.

 

[Highway99]

Pretty sure at one point the Burt Reynolds reference in True Romance was a Mickey Rourke reference. Also pretty sure Tarantino wrote Butch with Rourke in mind, either as a model or because he actually wanted to cast him once he got around to making Pulp Fiction. @Highway99, am I remembering this right?

Alabama said her favorite movie star was Burt Reynolds and her turn-ons were Mickey Rourke. Which would have been more timely references if the film was made nearer to when it was written in the mid 80's.

And yes he was Tarantino's first choice for Butch, but Rourke was too egotistical to audition or even read the script. Then, when he was offered the role of Stuntman Mike in Death Proof Rourke's agents assumed they could hold out for more money, so Tarantino to him to fuck off.

 

[Bullitt68]

Alabama said her favorite movie star was Burt Reynolds and her turn-ons were Mickey Rourke. Which would have been more timely references if the film was made nearer to when it was written in the mid 80's.

Ah, that's right.

And yes he was Tarantino's first choice for Butch, but Rourke was too egotistical to audition or even read the script. Then, when he was offered the role of Stuntman Mike in Death Proof Rourke's agents assumed they could hold out for more money, so Tarantino to him to fuck off.

I don't think I ever knew that he was offered Stuntman Mike. That's a tough one for me because that might be my favorite Kurt Russell performance. But he was a wild man where Mickey would've been more of a chilling creep. Hard to be bummed considering how amazing Russell was, but an alternate universe with Rourke in the role would be cool to check out.

It's even more surprising that Tarantino couldn't hook up with Rourke then because he'd just killed it in Sin City with Robert Rodriguez. I guess that's where the money comes in...

 

[Highway99]

I don't think I ever knew that he was offered Stuntman Mike. That's a tough one for me because that might be my favorite Kurt Russell performance. But he was a wild man where Mickey would've been more of a chilling creep. Hard to be bummed considering how amazing Russell was, but an alternate universe with Rourke in the role would be cool to check out.

It's even more surprising that Tarantino couldn't hook up with Rourke then because he'd just killed it in Sin City with Robert Rodriguez. I guess that's where the money comes in...

Yeah, I think his agents got greedy.

I love Kurt Russell in that movie as well. The scene that seals it for me was at the end when the girls crash his car and he starts screaming... you know what I'll just post the scene...



Its so goddamn funny.

 

[wendelbudwhite]

Homeboy I feel is pretty underrated. Great soundtrack too